Design for Manufacture

Over 70% of the costs associated with a product are determined early in the product’s design and development.

By applying DFM principles early in product design, optimum use is made of materials and processes when change is easier and less expensive, and overall cumulative spend is reduced.

Product Life Cycle Costs during Product Introduction Process

Design for Manufacture (DFM) is an umbrella concept that is concerned with focusing design team effort on the cost effective use of parts and processes to produce, on time, high quality products that meet customer and business requirements. The principal characteristics present in successful DFM practice are:

Teamwork

• Full time, co-located core team
• Principal stakeholders represented (i.e. Engineering, Marketing, Manufacturing, Suppliers, Customers)
• Early formation (at Requirements Definition stage)
• Selected for teamworking and technical skills

Concurent or Simultaneous Engineering

• Parallel design of product, its method of manufacture and the manufacturing system against clear customer requirements
• Equal product and process definition levels
• Rapid product/process/customer iterations

Use of Tools and Techniques

• Inject method, objectively and structure continuous feedback
• Improved team communications and understanding
• Produce step change improvement in the quality of the design process by training the whole team together
• Need to be used selectively, at the right time and with the appropriate training
• Examples of effective tools for integration with the technical management of the project process are:-
  • Quality Function Deployment (QFD)
  • Design for Assembly (DFA)
  • Failure Modes and Effects Analysis (FMEA)
  • Design to Target Cost (DTC)
  • Controlled Concept Convergence

The relationship of the above support tools is shown in the diagram.

Professionally Managed Design Process

• Clearly defined and visible with logical phases for review handover, sign off and quality audit
• Planned, monitored and controlled using sound project and programme management principles

The DFM concept complements the implementation of a simple low NVA organisation approach to the product introduction process based on multi-disciplinary teams and matrix-management methods to give:

• Reduced Product Information leadtime
• Improved reliability and quality of performance
• Quality products at low cost
• Improved manufacturability
• Reduced engineering change